public still believes in ethanol !

jc4patents · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 18, 2006 Posts: 24

it is incredible and frustrating that, with all the information to the contrary, most public comments (e.g., newspapers, television news, candidate's positions) still talk of ethanol as though it provided an energy benefit

why do you think the public and the media ignore all the publicized articles (e.g., one in a National Geographic special edition last fall) that document the opposite ?

Shannymara

Twilight · Expert Joined: Mar 02, 2007 Posts: 3076 Location: UK

The public does not believe it in the UK. Media coverage has been enrelentingly negative for months. The news that we are now going to have ethanol added to our fuel was buried.
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Dreamtwister · Fission Joined: Feb 06, 2006 Posts: 2285

IanC

I'm with Shanny on this one.

I think we're all in denial on some level. We're flailing about, looking for a way out. Study the grieving process and watch people's behavior as it dawns on them that the game is over forever.

Let's see, how does it go? Denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance... What am I forgetting?

-IanC

timmac · Heavy Crude Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Posts: 269

Ethanol all by it self is not a answer to the oil shortage problem,, but it is a neat way for one to make his own fuel,, and it is a way for the goverment to take over some farm land in the distance future to make fuel for the military,,[ not that I agree on that ],, Brazil has changed there fuel economy mostly over to Ethanol because they make it from sugar cane that yeilds 5 times what corn can do,, Ethanol from corn does not really make a lot of sense,, but many other plants and crops does make it much more cheaper to produce,, did you know that cat tails can produce about 2000 gal's per acre verse corn at around 300-400 gals per acre,, switch grass yields around 1200 gal's per acre and you only plant it once every 10 years and cut it like grass and it grows right back and can get 2 cuttings a year making it at 2400 gals per acre with little to no fertilezers,,,,, Bio-fuels/electric/hydrogen/air power is the cars of the future or mass-transit, you decide................

Gandalf_the_White · Intermediate Crude Joined: Nov 21, 2007 Posts: 511

The Iowa Caucus still believes in ethanol, the Vietnamese think it sucks.
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Specop_007 · Expert Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 6280

If the cards are played right, ethanol is the perfect answer (for us).

I'm highly skeptical that TPTB are holding the right cards though.
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BigTex

Ethanol should never be produced over food.

Ethanol should not be subsidized (there should actually be subsidies for growing crops for food rather than fuel).

Once the steps above are taken, I think we will be happier with the ethanol situation.

It probably has a place, along with all the other 1% solutions on the alternative energy pile, but it's no solution to anything.
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efarmer · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 17, 2006 Posts: 509

I live in corn and soybean country BigTex. The farmers around
here went in on building their own ethanol plants, and the
politicians got them subsidies and it was almost as good
as being paid to grown nothing in the good old days.
The farmers I have talked to say they found out it
was a huge hassle and not worth the trouble when
the corn price is high and you can simply load barges
and shoot it down the Mississippi.

It looks like the ethanol plants will do their lick to
provide a MTBE oxygenation alternative with ethanol
and will be able to maybe go full capacity when the
time comes that the hassle and expense doesn't
matter due to petroleum shortages.

We like to burn everything we can for sure,
but the market is saying corn is best burnt in
combustion systems with a flesh tail pipe.
We have food to trade for petroleum, I hope
we start doing barters free of currency instead
of burning top soil and corn as transportation.

Tyler_JC

Higher food prices and an effective advertising campaign could crash public support for ethanol.

But so far no one is actively countering the ethanol lobby.

Where are Kraft, Tyson, Unilever, and Nestle on this one? What about the restaurant owners?

Shouldn't they be clamoring for an end to this ethanol madness which is crushing their profit margins?

The whole thing pisses me off. People aren't standing up for themselves against the ethanol lobby. Mad

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9 · Coal Joined: Apr 22, 2008 Posts: 8

I think people believe in ethy, but are becoming aware that using food for fuel is ludicrous.

Ethy can be made from grass clippings and leaves. Imagine all of that yard waste that is sent to the land fill...?

FoolYap

aahala2 · Tar Sands Joined: Mar 25, 2008 Posts: 87

The media and US publilc are wiseing up to the issues of ethanol.

Just this last week I saw in the paper the following story.
In 2006 the Missouri legislature passed a law requiring
ethanol be in all gasoline sold in the state beginning January 1,2008. Some legislatures that voted for the bill are now
requesting the same body to look into removing the requirement.

And many of these recent TV and newspaper stories of higher
food prices here and around the world are now including the
"ethanol effect". That simply didn't occur a few years ago.